Desert Thorn
by Rat3hellivader
Summary: However, compared to some of the things he had heard about, to let them die through lashings and starvation was mercy. Letting them slip easily into death's open arms. The leader wouldn't get away so easily. Citronshipping. T for violence and cursing.


_**Author Note:** Wooh... I have been away a long while, haven't I? Oops! 8D But now I am back with the last of two things I have written while been away. The other is simply a one-shot that I am working on while I intend to continue this on as a chapter thing._

_Hope you enjoy it!_

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_Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh and all of the characters used in this fanfiction are owned by Kazuki Takahasi and are in no way my own._

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**Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams**

Rotting flesh was the first thing that Malik noticed when he was thrown into the prison cell. The putrid smell that hung in the air clutched at his throat and stomach with decayed, slimy fingers.

Bones were scattered along the floor, the few complete skeletal figures curled in on themselves or sprawled out on the floor, their long fingers reaching in vain towards the wall.

He remembered the recently deceased thief who was slumped in the corner, hands severed from his wrists. The gangrene had made its way up the stubbed arms and started to creep across his torso and up his neck, the decayed flesh showing the rotting muscle, decomposing internal organs and blood stained bones.

Then he had been shackled to the wall, left to rot…

How long he'd been left underground in the dark, damp prison, he didn't know. It seemed like days... Weeks, even. He could hardly remember what the hell he'd been held prisoner for, hunger and the pain in his back distracting him from it. All he could remember was that he did it for a reason and that the Pharaoh deserved everything that he'd have received. It can't have been a good thing though, seeing as he'd received several lashings across the back and was currently wasting away, hung to the high ceiling by his wrists. Ra, it hurt...

Slowly, the boy moved his head to look at his companion who was on the floor, curled tightly into a ball. It was painful to watch the other boy dying. He knew he was dying from the weak groaning noises he made when the guards lashed him, rather than screaming and struggling to get away as his other companions had done. He just didn't move while he was on the floor. Shackled to the wall.

Malik, however, had been the leader of the group. He had been the one who plotted against the almighty Pharaoh and now, he was going to pay dearly for it. One of his friends was already dead, another clinging to life with his nails... And the other two weren't looking too good themselves. However, compared to some of the things he had heard about, to let them die through lashings and starvation was mercy. Letting them slip easily into death's open arms.

The leader wouldn't get away so easily.

Shaking his head weakly to move his sand-matted bangs out of his eyes, the boy looked up at the ceiling. It was hardly visible but some of the cracks in the sun-bakes walls let some sunlight seep through, bathing his battered body, making him feel clean. Maybe Ra had meant for this to happen. Maybe he would welcome Malik, an eternal life as a God for risking his life to kill an imposter god.

A weak smile crept over his lips as he thought about this. Then he would get his revenge for his friends. He would prove his loyalty to his departed friends, even as a god. He let out a small breath before he allowed his eyes to close completely, the light comforting his mind into a peaceful and deep sleep.

* * *

"Hey, kid! Wake up!"

White specks danced over the boy's vision as he attempted to open his eyes, darkness surrounding him. Whatever had happened to the sun? Surely he hadn't slept so long that it had slipped past the horizon? He could feel the faint glow of the moon on one side of his face, however, that was not enough to banish the black fog that had engulfed his mind.

"Well, at least we know he's alive now..."

Malik felt his throat vibrate as he made a groggy moaning sound, eyes slowly fluttering open as his eyes struggled to adjust. The first thing that he noticed was another boy standing over him, the moon-light reflecting off his silver hair and illuminating his bright violet eyes. He was studying Marik with a mixture of curiosity and amusement, folding his tanned, weather beaten arms across his bare chest.

"Good evening..." A smirk graced his lips as he moved to grab Malik's wrist, cackling softly when the younger boy flinched away from him. "Do you really think that I want to hurt you? There would be no point in killing you after I've only just rescued you."

Narrowing his lavender eyes, the blond boy pushed himself up onto his hands and knees before leaning back against the wall, wanting to make a snide remark towards the half-nude boy. However, his throat was parched and all that he could manage for the moment were groans in hunger and thirst. By Ra, he needed something to drink. And fast. Sand covered his hand, making it painful to move as it dug into the cuts, but he tipped his hand back slightly to show what he wanted.

"H-Heh... I am afraid we are pretty far away from any water source." The other boy scratched his head lightly, cackling to himself again. "I used the remainder of my water on trying to wake you. But it seems that you simply soaked it up. Not the wisest choice I have ever made, I must admit... Why, do you still feel like you have a desert in your mouth?"

Malik simply nodded, backing away even more. It was foolish of him to act like this, but the other boy was very intimidating. Plus he himself was weak with hunger and thirst. He didn't even think he could stand up for over ten seconds without tumbling to the ground again. "Wait... Don't answer that..." the other boy sniggered and shook his head, "You may spit more sand out at us again..."

Normally, Malik would have taken that personally but he didn't have the energy to, so he let it drop, casting his gaze at the wall behind the albino haired boy. "I'm Bakura, by the way..." he sniggered and held his hand out to the younger looking boy, canines flashing deviously in the moonlight. He raised an eyebrow when Malik tried to crawl to the entrance of the small room, looking around for the other person who had been with Bakura. Nothing.

"W-who..?" he managed to choke, wiping his mouth with his hand, getting even more sand in his mouth from his hand. He could have sworn that he heard someone else when he was waking up.

"Oh, the other person?" He waved his hand, frowning slightly. "Just some moron from Thebes doing business, is all. Followed me out here and found you. Quite ironic, really. Get one person off of my back and another comes along... Ah well..."

Marik made a small rasping noise in replacement of what would have been a sigh, looking across the desert at the faint outline of Thebes. It looked so close. And then he realized...

"W-hat the he-ell do you mean -f-found- me?" His voice faltered as he shakily pulled himself off of the floor, gripping to the sun-baked wall desperately. "I-I was shackled t-t-to the ceiling--" he coughed, throwing his spare hand over his mouth in the process, "By my _wrists_!"

"Yes, well... Found... Rescued... Same thing really, isn't it? This reminds me... Why were you there while your friends had the dignity of being on the floor? Enlighten me, I'm curious."

"It's nothing-"

"- to do with me? I think you'll find, boy, it is. I am going to be the one who has to look after you unless you want to be killed or befall a similar fate to that!" Bakura's eyes glimmered darkly as he watched the other boy's face twist in frustration. Slowly, he raised an eyebrow and fought to keep the smirk off of his face. "Well?"

Malik paused, lips pursed together in a tight line. Clearly this fool was under-estimating him!

"F-for your information, I can look after myself. I am not a mere child... Bakura!" He hissed his name before choking again, clutching his throat and falling to his knees. He was dying of thirst and all that idiot could do was stand there and watch? What a great help he was!

"I suggest you keep your mouth firmly shut before I leave you here to rot. There are rather hungry vultures that hang around here on a day, you know. You might have your eyes plucked from their sockets while you're still alive!" To emphasize his point, Bakura made a popping noise before sauntering over and tugging Malik to his feet, pressing their noses together and sneering. "But I'll give you one warning, boy. If you step out of line with me, I _will_ leave you for the bastard vultures. You got that?"

Malik glared, not replying in case he coughed up a lung or another vital organ. Had he been able to, he would have told Bakura to get bent. But as it was... "Ah, good good! I like it when people do as their told first time around." A cackle followed the statement before Bakura picked up a couple of water skins off of the floor where Malik had slept, brushing the sand off of them lightly. "First thing we need... Water!"

The blond haired boy smirked inwardly as he followed the surprisingly chipper albino boy. Maybe Ra wanted him to kill that damned bastard of a Pharaoh. Wanted him to take over the almighty throne. Yes, he could see it now... Get some water, maybe stay with Bakura for a while before going and assembling more people and seizing the palace. He would make Egypt a better place than it was.

"By the way, kid... What _was_ it that got you hung from the ceiling?" Bakura raised an eyebrow from where he was upon the horse, reaching a hand down to help Malik up.

"Y-you know..." he replied, a sinister smirk appearing on his face. "This and that..."

* * *

The Royal palace was in uproar. People flying about the place like headless poultry, arms flailing in all directions as they tried to get to their resting places where they would be safe. Away from the assassin who had almost killed the Pharaoh. Who had poisoned him to what some had thought may have been a premature death.

However, High Priest Seth had made his way to the Pharaoh's chambers, occasionally boxing some of the servant boys around the head for playing tricks on the Priests and Priestesses that were wandering around in search of the attempted murderer. Some people had no shame. At all. And these people were panicking and it was un-necessary. All the Priests and the Priestess of the Pharaoh himself had searched throughout the palace, Priest Mahaado declaring the area clear. It was impossible for him to have remained in the palace without himself been found.

_But, then again..._ He thought to himself as he raised a fist to knock on the door. _We thought that it would be impossible to escape the prison. Even Priestess Isis didn't see it coming..._ He knocked slowly and deliberately, holding his Millennium Rod firmly between his fingers. When he heard the weak call from the Pharaoh to come in, he slowly pushed the doors open, walking into the large, richly decorated room. "My Pharaoh... I bring news on the assassin..."

The other Priests had gathered around the Pharaoh's bed, their eyes leaving him to glance briefly at the High Priest before looking back. Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen, as he was known, was recovering from being incredibly ill. His body weight had dropped by half in under a space of a couple of days and his none-stop fevers and shaking had made everyone very cautious when they were around him.

A sickly cough followed as the Pharaoh slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, his priests rushing to help him. His body weight had fallen dramatically in the past few days, making the already slim monarch appear weak and fragile. A shadow of his healthier self. The High Priest almost recoiled in horror when his master's face came into view. As pale as the Nile was wet, dark shadows covering his already gaunt features.

_It is like staring at death itself…_ Seth thought to himself as he quickly signed against the evil eye. He bowed after, just as the Pharaoh spoke.

"What news is it that you bring?" His usually impressive and commanding tone was barley above a whisper, his breath slow, rasping and deliberate.

"He is not in the palace. We have searched for over three hours, my Pharaoh, and we can find nothing. A search is been carried throughout Thebes as we speak."

The Pharaoh nodded weakly, clearly confused. "And if he is not in Thebes?"

"Then we shall search the desert and Cairo and put a bounty on his head."

Akhenamkhanen coughed quietly for a moment before speaking again, his voice slightly higher, frustration clear on his sickly features. "High Priest," he started, pushing himself weakly off of the bed, "Have you ever stopped to consider the longer you take to search the palace and Thebes, the more time that bastard has to escape?"

"Your highness, we are going the best that we can. Even the people in the city are looking, but-"

"I expect a bounty of forty lakhs of gold to be placed on his head and an extra five if you catch whoever helped him to escape!"

"Yes, my Pharaoh…"

"And also, I want the message of the bounty to be spread to Cairo, Elephantine and everywhere else in my country!"

"And if they escape the country?"

"They will not, I assure you."

"As you wish, Great Pharaoh…" with that, Seth bowed for the final time before excusing himself from the room.

Sighing softly to himself, Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen retired to his bed, dismissing the Priests as he struggled to get comfortable on his back. He cast his eyes to look at the ceiling, a distant and sad smile appearing on his face, eyes glazing over.

"Tonight, I shall join my brothers before me and sleep as a God…"

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A/N:** I know I'm annoying but just a small note about the story. Yes, I do know that Malik (hikari) was not there in Ancient Egypt and I do know that Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen didn't die how he did in the story because Malik wasn't there to do it. But it is called artistic license and I intend on using it throughout the story. 3_

_Comments and criticism welcome. Flaming, however, isn't._


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